47 Interesting Abraham Lincoln Facts

Abraham Lincoln, known for his determination and perseverance, is the most famous U.S. presidents in history. He became the 16th president of the U.S. on 4th March 1861. With these 47 interesting facts about Abraham Lincoln, let’s learn about his life, career, politics, mission, philosophy and death.

1.Education: Lincoln was a self-educated man. He had little formal education; however, he practiced law. On the other hand, Lincoln’s dad was only literate enough to write his name.

2. He was the second child of his parents. They were farmers and their family lived in Kentucky until 1816.

3. Death of his mother: Lincoln’s mother died from drinking poisoned milk. His father soon married another woman by the name Sarah Bush Johnston, who was a widow. She had a good relation with Abraham and he liked her company as well.

4. Lincoln did not have a middle name.

5. Lincoln also worked as a licensed bartender.

6. Lincoln was an avid hunter.

7.Religion: Lincoln was never a member a member of an organized church. He read bible to learn about Christianity.

8.Marriage: In 1842, Lincoln was got married to a 23-year old woman named Mary Todd who was just 5 feet 2 inches while Lincoln was 6 feet 4 inches. They had four boys, only one of whom lived to maturity. Mary Todd Lincoln, the First Lady of the United States of America, passed away in 1882.

9. Abraham Lincoln also had a serious girlfriend named Mary. However, they broke up and he later married Mary Todd.

10.Wrestling career: Lincoln was a wrestler and an accomplished one. He lost just one fight out of the 300 he fought. He is in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Facts about Lincoln’s: presidency, invention, formation of the U.S. Secret Service, law practice etc

11. He was a general store owner, postmaster and lawyer before being elected.

12.U.S. Secret Service: Lincoln gave birth to the U.S. secret Service. However, it is disappointing that he was assassinated in spite of the formation of Secret Service. Learn that Lincoln was shot the day when he signed the bill for the Secret Service. However, his purpose behind the agency was to stop currency counterfeiting which was highly prevalent at the time. The Secret Service was given the responsibility to protect the commander-in-chief after 1901 when two other presidents were killed.

13. Lincoln was so famous that a gang of robbers wanted to steal his corpse and demand $200,000 in ransom. However, the Secret Service intervened and prevented the robbers from the act.

14.Politics and science: do not be surprised to learn that Lincoln is the only president to have obtained a patent. Lincoln was awarded the patent for inventing a method to keep ships afloat on shallow water while near the shore. Patent No. 6,469 in 1849 belongs to Lincoln.

15. Lincoln was a keen politician and was passionate about testing rifles used by the U.S. forces. He tested them out in the open outside the White House, which was however not allowed by the law.

17. Thanksgiving, which is a national holiday, was established by Lincoln. Yeah, we must thank him for the holiday. Shall not we?

18.He liked: Lincoln liked fruits so much that it was his favorite food.

19.Lucky man: Lincoln could have died before his assassination as he was saved twice during his lifetime. But he was not lucky the third time.

20.Career in Law: We told you Lincoln practiced law. He did. Actually, he lost a case before the Supreme Court in 1849.

About Lincoln’s personality, living in the White House, failures, depression, civil war etc

21. Lincoln had huge feet. In fact his shoe size was between 12 and 14. This is the biggest foot size in the U.S. president history.

22. In the White House: Lincoln did not sleep in his White House bedroom. He used the room as his office.

23. Abraham Lincoln hated to be called “Abe.”

24. Interestingly, Abraham Lincoln used his hat to keep his important documents.

25. Abraham Lincoln was against slavery and was the first politician to believe in the rights of the women to vote.

26. Lincoln had lots of cats in the White House. In fact he had two cats that he fed from the dinner table. However, his wife did not like the act.

27. Lincoln is known for failures. He failed in his first business and also lost his first bid for a presidential ticket. He lost 5 separate elections before being elected as the president of the U.S.

28. There are more books written about Lincoln than any other American.

29. Depression was Lincoln’s friend during most of his life. He stayed depressed while he lost and fought. However, he never quit.

30. He is the first U.S. president to be assassinated. He has so much of history attuned to his name.

31. He was the president of the U.S. during the Civil War.

32. Lincoln had long legs and did not appear tall when he was seated. Moreover, he was thin and had beard (the first president to sport a beard while serving in office.) He had one of the most recognizable faces of all the U.S. presidents. An 11-year old girl from Westfield, New York, was the inspiration behind Lincoln’s beard.